Vo-Tech Students Honored with SkillsUSA – Butler Eagle Medals

Seven Butler County Vocational and Technical School students were honored for their achievement at the SkillsUSA National Leadership and Skills Conference in Atlanta in June.

The national conference features 115 competitions allowing students from across the country to showcase their skills in various trades, many of which are taught in vocational school.

Seneca Valley student Viktoriya Semenenko won the gold medal in the advertising design competition, beating out 37 other entrants. The goal of the competition was to demonstrate the technical skills and creativity of someone who would work for a real advertising agency.

Zachary Ellison of Butler, Bennett Shaw of Knoch and Shiane Chalkley of Knoch won silver in the Chapter Display competition. The trio was tasked with building a three-dimensional display that would follow that year’s SkillsUSA conference theme: “No Limits.” The display was flanked by a sculpture of a brain on a metal pole, with a message behind it: “No Limits to the Power of Knowledge.”

Madison Smith of Karns City, Bethany Scuticchio of Pennsylvania Leadership Charter and Zoe Coffey of Moniteau won fourth place in the Arts and Communication competition, which aimed to use the skills they learned during their studies to develop an exhibit. The trio designed three welcome signs for Evans City, all of which are expected to be turned into real signs and put into service in the near future.

According to a board member, Butler’s vo-tech trio was just a few points away from third place in this competition. They had already won first place at the state competition in Hershey in the same category in April.

Four of the seven vocational technical education students — Semenenko, Ellison, Chalkley and Smith — were present at the joint operating committee meeting Thursday night. The 10-member committee asked the four students about their plans for the future, to which Semenenko responded that she currently runs a graphic design business via Instagram.

Ellison said he plans to attend Penn State Behrend to study plastics engineering, while Chalkley works at Butler Technologies on West Wayne Street. Smith will be moving up to 11th grade next school year, so she will have another chance to compete at SkillsUSA.

From left, Butler County vocational students Madison Smith, Shiane Chalkley, Viktoriya Semenenko and Zachary Ellison all earned high marks at the SkillsUSA Leadership and Skills Conference in Atlanta in June. William Pitts/Butler Eagle